Berkeley Open Government Ordinance

Ordinance No. 7,166-N.S., Adopted March 8, 2011

The Open Government Ordinance, also known as the "sunshine ordinance," is a city ordinance that provides additional assurances that community members have access to public meetings and public documents. California’s Brown Act and Public Records Act make basic guarantees to everyone in the state regarding access to public meetings and documents.

Berkeley's ordinance covers four primary areas, the agenda process, conduct of meetings, access to records, and oversight. Under each of these areas are several requirements for public access to City records, information, and meetings. This page acts as a clearinghouse for the various documents and information guaranteed to citizens under the Berkeley Open Government Ordinance (OGO). The provisions of the ordinance are effective April 9, 2011.

The Open Government Ordinance requires that the complete Agenda Packet be distributed no later than 11 days prior to the City council Meeting. This is a full week earlier than was previously required and allows for more time for review by the public and elected officials. Accordingly, the City council Agenda Committee now meets one week earlier, 15 days before the Council meeting.

For more information regarding Council meetings including Agendas, Subcommittees, the City Council Rules of Procedure, and the Berkeley Redevelopment Agency please visit the City Council Web Page.

Hard copies of City Council Agenda and Agenda Packet are available at the City Clerk Department, 2180 Milvia Street, 1st Floor and the Main Branch of the Berkeley Public Library at 2090 Kittredge Avenue.

Public Presentations at Council Meetings - Pursuant to BMC Section 2.06.130 members of the public may use City presentation tools at City Council meetings. The presentation must be provided to the City Clerk no later than seven (7) days before the meeting, or five (5) days before for items carried over from a meeting that occurred the week immediately prior. Requests for presentation tools are subject to reasonable availability of any equipment that the proposed presentation would require. Presentations from the public shall comply with the time limits set forth in the City Council Rules of Procedure.

Public Records

Follow these links to access the documents listed under Section 2.06.140 of the OGO:

Large Document Index - The documents in the Index are available for review at the Reference Desk of the Main Branch of the Berkeley Library at 2090 Kittredge Street. They are also on file with the City Clerk Department at 2180 Milvia Street, 1st Floor and the Department of Origin. Many of these documents are also available online though the City's website.

OversightThe Open Government Commission consists of the members of the Berkeley Fair Campaign Practices Commission who serve as ex officio members of the Open Government Commission. The Commission hears complaints, considers ways to informally resolve those complaints, and makes recommendations to the Council regarding such complaints. For more information, visit the Commission web page (link below).